Ice tray



Oct. 3, 1939. 0. H. REEVES R 21,1225

ICE TRAY I Original FiledvJune 17, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet l I Awamm's Oct. 3, 1939.. D. REEVES I Re. 21,226

ICE TRAY Original Filed June 17, 1937 I5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTCR. pm. If 2P5: Yes.

- af/J ATTORNEYS.

Oct. 3, 1939.v D. H. REEVES R154 21,225

105; TRAY Originl Filed June 17, 1937 s Sheets-Sheet 3 fNVENIOR.

Dan/44a Paray 1m: ATITORNEYSL Reissued Oct 3, 1 939 PATENT OFFICE ICE TRAY Donald H. Reeves, Dayton, Ohio, alsignor to General Motors Corporation, Dayton, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware Original No. 2,154,357, dated April 11,1939, Se-

rial No. 148,743, June 17, 1937.

Application for reissue August 9, 1939, Serial No. 289,328

19 Claims.

This invention relates to ice trays and grid structures therefor employed in mechanically refrigerated household refrigerator cabinets.

One object of my invention is to provide an 6 improved freezing device for liquids including an ice tray and a metallic grid structure therefor which device facilitates the removal of the. grid together with ice blocks adhering thereto from the tray and removal of ice blocks from the grid 10 structure without the applicationof artificial heat thereto.

Another object of my invention is to provide an ice tray with an improved removable grid structure of the type which comprises a plurality 15 of rigid partitioning walls having obstructions thereon and being movable relative to another partitioning wall for breaking a bond between ice 25 gated metallic partitioning wall to cause ice blocks to act against or between the irregular surfaces of the partitioning walls for moving ice blocks ina. plurality of directions to break the bond between the blocks and walls of the grid structure.

In carrying out the foregoing objects still further objects and advantages of my invention reside in'details of construction of my improved grid structure and in novel combinations and arrangements of parts thereof which provides for a strong, durable and inexpensive freezing device as will more fully appear in the course of the following description.

In the drawings;

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a freezing device comprising a tray having a grid structure therein constructed in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the device shown in 45 Fig. 1 and is taken on the line 2-4 thereof;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the device taken on the line H of Fig. 1 showing the association of transverse walls of the grid with the longitudinal wall thereof;

50 Fig. 4 is a side view of the ice tray shown in Figs. 1,2 and 3;

Fig. 5 is a bottom view of the ice tray employed in my freezing device;

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view showing 6 the tray flexed and disclosing the grid structure and ice blocks adhering thereto released from the tray;

Fig. 7 is a view of the grid structure removed from the tray and showing certain walls of the grid moved relative to another wall thereof for 6 breaking an ice bond between the ice blocks and the grid walls; and

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken on the line 8-'-8 of Fig. 6 illustrating the broken ice bond and showing the ice blocks moved away from the 10 wall of the grid. 7

Referring to the drawings, for the purpose of illustrating the invention, I have disclosed a metal ice tray III having side walls I I (see Figs. 3,

4 and 5), a bottom wall I! and opposed end walls I3 and I4. The tray end wall l4 converges outwardly from the bottom to the top of tray ll and the side walls may also be converged out-. 'wardly, if desired. The upright walls ll, l3 and ll of tray Ii have their upper edge rolled or bent over to form a rim II which extends continuously around the top of the tray. A portion of the metal tray II is extended downwardly from rim It, as at It, at the front end l3 thereof and provides a mounting for a heavy metal piece I? which has a handle ll pivotally secured thereto. The handle ll facilitates placing of tray III in or on a cooling element of a refrigeratingsystem and a cam surface [9 formed thereon functions, upon actuating handle II, to break an ice bond between the tray and its support to permit removal ofthe tray together with its frozen contents from the cooling element as is well known in the art. It will be noted that the tray l0 has a portion of its bottom wall [2 near each end Y thereof raised, as at 2|, at an angle relative to other portions thereof.: This raised or angled bottom wall portion II of. tray ll provides a shoulder or fulcrum line 22 which extends transversely across the tray bottom at an angle to the 40 end portlonof tray Ill. The flat portion of the bent-over top edge at the corner of tray II above the widest part of the raised or angled tray bottom portion II is adapted to be pressed for a purpose to be-presently described.

A metallic grid structure, generally represented bythe reference character 25, constituting the improved grid of the present invention is removably disposed in tray ill and divides the interior thereof mm a plurality of open-top molds, cells or compartments. The grid structure 25 comprises rigid. metal sections which are movable relative to one another, One section of grid structure 2! is in the form of a vertically disposed longitudinally extending rigid metal partitioning wall member 28. The other section of grid structure 25 is in the form of a plurality of vertically disposed rigid metal partitioning wall members 21 intersecting the longitudinal wall 28 and extending transversely thereacross. The longitudinal grid wall 28 is provided with a plurality of spaced apart slots 28 extending from the top downwardly to about the middle thereof. These slots 28 are formed by a continuously extending vertical wall 29, a short straight vertical wall portion 31 and an angled wall portion 32 extending from the wall portion ll. A slot 34 having straight substantially parallel side walls extends from the bottom edge of each transverse partition 21 upwardly to about the middle thereof (see Fig. 3) The slots 28 and 34 cooperate to permit the plurality of transverse wall members to straddle the longitudinal wall member 26 of the grid structure 25 and to be movably interlocked thereto. It will be noted that slots 28 in the longitudinal wall member 26 receive a web portion of the transverse walls 21 and that slots 36' in the transverse walls 21 receive a web portion of the longitudinal wall 26 and that such reception completes the grid to forma rigid unitary removable structure. It will also be noted that the transverse grid wall members 21 extend above the top of the longitudinal grid wall member 25 and have their upper ends bent over to form lips 38 for a purpose to be presently described. The longitudinal grid wall section or member 26 is provided with longitudinally extending corrugations Ii and the transverse grid walls or sections 21 are each provided with a plurality of corrugations for a purpose hereinafter described. The slots 28 and 34 obviously are of such width as to receive and engage the raised parts of the horizontally extending corrugations ll and 2 provided on grid wall partitioning members 25 and. 21 to cause these members to be firmly interlocked and held in substantially vertical positions'relative to one another. The tapered or angled wall surface portion of slots 28 provided in wall member 28 insures that the raised'parts of corrugations 42 provided in wall members 21 will be forced towardand into abutting engagement with the continuous vertical wall 29 of slots 28 when mem-- bers 21 are lowered into straddling position over member 25. The horizontally extending corrugations H and 42 provided in grid members or sections 26 and 21 respectively form camming surfaces or obstructions along the sides of the members and provide the grid structure with irregular wall surfaces which have a function that will become apparent in the description of the operation of the device.

The tray l0 after having been filled with water and having the grid structure 25 placed therein is positioned in or on a freezing portion of a cooling Ill is placed upon a fiat support such as a table or ledge and force is applied at the top corners thereof located remote from the shoulders or ful- -crumed lines 22. Since the tray is constructed of relatively thin metal it is somewhat flexible andthe downward force applied to the ends thereof, as described, is transmitted to the fulcrum lines or shoulders 22 and causes fiexure or twisting of the tray, due to the angled disposition of the fulcrum lines 22, into the position illustrated in Fig. 6 of the drawings. of the tray as illustrated in Fig. 6 breaks the bond between the ice in tray Ill and the inner surfaces of the tray walls. The grid structure 25 together with ice blocks adhering thereto can then be readily removed from tray ill by inverting the tray to thereby permit harvesting of the ice blocks from grid structure 25.

After removal of the grid structure 25 and ice blocks adhering thereto from tray Ill the transverse grid .walls 21 can then be moved relative to shown the one end transverse grid wall 21 as having already beenmoved upwardly'of the longitudinal grid wall 26 to break the bond between the corner ice blocks and the grid walls to thereby release the corner ice blocks from the grid structure. Also in Fig. 7 I show the next to the and transverse grid wall 21 as having been moved upwardly of the longitudinal grid 26 by the tool or lever. To independently move the grid walls 21 relative to wall 26 as shown, to obtain the desired number of ice cubes or blocks, the tool 45 is placed upon the grid structure 25 with its bent fulcrum point 48 resting upon the top'edge oi longitudinal wall 26 and with its finger or camming end 41 positioned under the bent-over lip portion '38 of one of the transverse walls 21. The handle end 46 oftool 45 is moved downwardly thus causing the bent part 48 thereof to fulcrum upon the top of longitudinal grid member 25 to raise the finger end 41 into the position illustrated in Figs. '5

and 8 of the drawings. The force applied to lever or tool 45 for creating upward movement of the transverse grid member relative to the longitudinal grid member causes the convex and concave portions of corrugations 4i and 42 provided in the grid wall partitions 26 and 21 respectively to act as cam means against the ice blocks and this camming action moves the ice bloclas relative to walls of the grid structure to release same therefrom to permit easy removal of the ice blocks by the hand of the operator or by ice tongs. By referring to Figs. 7 and 8 it will be noted thatthe camming action of the corrugated grid walls against the ice blocks causes the ice blocks tomove in a plurality of directions or upwardly and outwardly relative to the longitudinal grid wall 255 and lengthwise along the transverse grid walls 2'5. Thusthe bond between all the walls of the ice block compartments and the ice blocks is broken to permit the removal of ice from the grid structure.

While I have disclosed the transverse grid par;- titions or walls 21 of the structure 25 as being entirely separable from the longitudinal partition or wall 26 it may be desirable to secure the walls 21 to wall 25 and permit only the movement therebetween as shown and described to eflect the ice block releasing action. It is alsoto be understood that while I have corrugated the rigid grid walls or sections of the structure 25 to provide irregular wall surfaces therefor it is well within the realm of my invention to provide other forms of obstructions or camming surfaces on the grid walls to obtain the camming action desired. 3 have disclosed the transverse grid walls 27 as being independently moved relative to the longitudinal grid wall 26' but suitable arrangements may be provided for moving the walls 21 progressively by a single means from one end to the other end of the grid structure while still incorporating the principle of my invention of 'corrugating both the longitudinal and transverse partition walls of the grid structure.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided an improved combination to thereby eliminate the necessity of running water over the tray to release the grid and ice therefrom and of applying artificial heat to the grid structure to effect release of ice blocks therefrom. My improved and novel ice tray grid structure is of simple construction, low manufacturing cost, strong and durable, capable of being operated over a long period of time without damage thereto and with a minimum of force. The device disclosed is constructed entirely of metal to thereby retain the fast freezing characteristics of metal as herein disclosed, constitutes a preferred form,

it is to be understood that. other forms might be adopted, all comingwithin the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. A grid structure for an ice tray comprising a plurality of sections, one of "aid sections being in the form of a longitudinal partitioning wall and the other of said sectionsbeing in the forrn of a partitioning vwall extending transversely to said longitudinal wall, one of said sections of said grid structure being movable relative to the other thereof, obstructions on each of said sections forming irregularv wall surfaces therefor, and the obstructions on one wall section cooperating with the obstructions on said other wall section tomove ice in a plurality of' directions upon moving said grid wall sections relative to one another.

2. A grid structure for an ice tray comprising a plurality of sections, one of said sections being in the form of a longitudinal partitioning wall and the other of said sections being in the form of a partitioning wall extending transversely to said longitudinal wall, said transverse partitioning wall section of said grid, structure being movable upwardly of said longitudinal partitioning wall section thereof, obstructions on each of said grid sections forming irregular wall surfaces therefor, and the obstructions on one wall secti n' cooperating with the obstructions on said other wall section to move ice upwardly of said longitudinal wall and outwardly thereof along said transverse wall upon moving the transverse wall upwardly of the longitudinal wall.

3. A grid structure for an ice tray comprising a plurality of sections, one of said sections being in the form of a longitudinal partitioning wall and the other of said' sections being in the formv of a partitioning wall extending transversely to said longitudinal wall, said partitioning walls each being corrugated to provide same with irregular wall surfaces, one of said sections of said grid structure being movable relative to the other thereof, and the corrugations in one wall section cooperating with the corrugations in the other of said wall sections to move ice in a plurality of directions upon moving said grid wall sections relative to one another.

4. A gridstructure for an ice tray comprising t me a plurality of sections, one of said sections being in the form of a longitudinal partitioning wall and the other of said sections being in the form of a partitioning wall extending transversely to said longitudinal wall, said partitioning walls each being corrugated'to'provide same with irregular wall surfaces, said transverse partitioning.

wall section of said grid structure being movable upwardly of said longitudinal partitioning wall section thereof, and the corrugations in one wall section cooperating with the corrugations in the other of said wall sections to move ice upwardly of said longitudinal wall and outwardly thereof along said transverse wall upon. moving the .transverse wall upwardly of the longitudinal wall.

5. A grid structure foran ice tray comprising a plurality of sections, one of said sections being in the form. of' a single longitudinal partitioning wall and the other of 'said sections being in the form of a plurality of partitioning walls carried by said longitudinal wall and extending transversely thereto, obstructions on each of said partitioning walls forming irregular wall surfaces therefor, said transverse partitioning wall sections of saidgrid structure being independently movable relative to the longitudinal partitioning wall section thereof, and the obstructions on one wall section cooperating with the obstructions on said other wall section to move ice in a plurality of directions upon moving said grid transverse wall sections relative to the longitudinal grid wall section.

6. A grid structure for an ice tray comprising a plurality of sections, one of said sections being in the form of a single longitudinal partitioning wall and the, other of said sections being in the form of a plurality of partitioning walls carried.

by said longitudinal wall and extending transversely thereto, obstructions on each of said partitioning walls forming irregular wall surfaces therefor, each of said transverse partitioning wall sections of said grid structure being independently movable upwardly of the single longitudinal partitioning wall section thereof, and the obstructions on one wall section cooperating with the obstructions on said other wall sections to move ice upwardly of said single longitudinal wall and outwardly thereof along said transverse walls upon moving one of the transverse walls upwardly of the single longitudinal wall.

7. A grid structure for an ice tray comprising a plurality of sections, one of said sections being .in the form of a single longitudinal partitioning wall and theother of said sections being in the form of aplurality of partitioning walls loosely carried by said longitudinal wall and extending transversely thereto, said partitioning walls each being corrugated to provide same with irregular wall surfaces, said transverse partitioning wall sections of said grid structure being independently movable relative to the longitudinal parti-- tioning wall section thereof, and the corrugations .in .one wall sectioncooperating with the corrugations in the other wall section to move ice in a plurality of directions upon moving said grid transverse wall sections relative to the longitudinal grid wall section.

8. A grid structure for an ice tray comprising a plurality of sections, one of said sections being in the form of a single longitudinalpartitioning wall and the other of said sections being in the form of a plurality of partitioning'walls loosely carried by said longitudinal wall and extending transversely thereto, said partitioning walls each being corrugated to provide same with irregular pendently movable upwardly of the single longitudinal partitioning wall sec'tion thereof, and the corrugations in one wall section cooperating with the corrugations in the other-wall sections to move ice upwardly of said single longitudinal wall and outwardlythereof along said transverse walls upon moving one of the transverse walls upwardly of the single longitudinal wall.

9. A grid structure for an ice tray comprising a plurality of sections, one of said sections being in the form of a single longitudinal partitioning wall and the other of said sections being in the form of a plurality of partitioning walls loosely carried by said longitudinal wall and extending transversely thereto, said partitioning walls each being corrugated-to provide samewith irregular wall surfaces, said corrugations extending horizontally along said partitioning walls substantially throughout the lengths thereof, each of said transverse partitioning wall sections of said grid structure being independently movable upwardly of the single longitudinal partitioning wall section thereof, and thecorrugations in one wall section cooperating with the corrugations in the other wall sections to move ice upwardly of said single longitudinal wall and outwardly thereof along said transverse walls upon moving one of the transverse walls upwardly of the sin- 1 arranged along a longitudinal axis of the tray gle longitudinal wall.

10. A grid structure for an ice tray comprising i a plurality of sections, one of said sections being in the form of a rigid metallic longitudinal partitioning wall and the other of said sections being in the form of a rigid metallic partitioning wall carried by said longitudinal wall in intersecting engagement therewith and. extending transversely thereto, said rigid partitioning walls each being corrugated to provide same with irregular wall surfaces, said corrugations extending horizontally along said walls substantially throughout the lengths thereof, one of said sections of said grid structure being movable relative to the other thereof, and the corrugations in one rigid wall section cooperating with the corrugations in the other of said rigid wall sections to move ice in a plurality of directions upon moving said grid wall sections relative to one another.

11. A grid structure for an ice tray comprising a plurality of sections, one of said sections being 'in the form of a single rigid metallic longitudinal partitioning wall and the other of said sections being in the form of a plurality of rigid metallic partitioning walls carried by said single longitudinal wall in spaced apart relation and extending transversely thereto, each of saidrigid transverse partitioning walls being corrugated to provide same with irregular wall surfaces, said corrugations extending horizontally along saidtransverse walls substantially throughout the lengths there- Lf, each of said transverse grid wall sections being movable relative to said single longitudinal grid wall section, and the corrugations in said transverse grid wall causing movement of ice relative to one of said grid wall sections upon moving one of said transverse grid walls relative to said single longitudinal wall. I 12. The combination with an ice tray of a partition member removably arranged along the longitudinal axis thereof and a second partition member extending transversely of and cooperating with the side walls of the tray and with said longitudinal partition member to form tionmember being formed with a portion flanged at the top thereof to receive a lifting force, and

- a second portion arranged to provide an obstruction to relative straight line movement between the ice cubes and the transverse partition and thereby resolve the first mentioned force into components some of which tends to break the bond between the ice cube and the partition elements.

13. The combination with an ice tray of a partition member removably arranged along the longitudinal axis thereof and a second partition member extending transversely of and cooperating with the side walls of the tray and with said longitudinal partition member to form a pair of ice cube compartments, the transverse partition member being formed with a flanged portion at the top thereof to receive a lifting force, a second portion of said transverse member being formed with indentations arranged to provide an obstruction to relative straight line movement between the ice cubes and the transverse partition and thereby resolve the first mentioned force into components some of which tend to break the bond between the ice cubes and the partition elements.

14;. The combination with an ice tray of a grid structure removably disposed therein, said grid structure comprising a partition member and a pluralityof partition members extending transversely of and in spaced apart relation along the length of said longitudinal partition, said transverse partitions cooperating with the longitudinal partition of said grid structure and with walls of the tray to form rows of ice block compartments, said transverse partition members being provided with means adapted to receive a lifting force, and means on saidtransverse partition members providing an obstruction to relative straight line movement thereof between ice blocks contacting same whereby, upon application of said force to a transverse partition member, said member is elevated relative to other members and the bond between certain ice blocks and the partition members is broken.

15. The combination with an ice tray structure of a grid structure removably disposed therein, said grid structure comprising a partition arranged along a longitudinal axis of the tray and a plurality of partitioning members extending transversely of and in spaced apart relation along the length of said longitudinal partition, said transverse partitioning members cooperating with the longitudinal partition of said grid structure and with walls 'of the tray structure to form rows of ice block compartments, said transverse partitioning members being provided with means adapted to receive a lifting force, means on said transverse partitioning .members providing an obstruction to relative straight line movement thereof between ice blocks contacting same, and a leveradapted to by said lever, said one transverse partitioning 1 member is moved independently of and relative to other of said transverse partitioningmembers' a pair to cause the obstruction thereon to move ice [5 main longitudinal dividing wall having a series of notches therein spaced along its length, a series of cross walls extending acrosssaid main wall and loosely arrangedin said notches in such manner that each cross wall may be individually and independently moved relative to said main wall to facilitate the removal of the. frozen ice blocks from said grid, anda detached prying tool'- manually actuatable at successive separate and independent operations to. force only one cross wall at each operation thereof to moverelative to said main wall whereby to facilitate the re moval from said. grid of two ice blocks at a time.

17. In a freezing tray, a container pan and a grid therefor serving to divide the frozen contents into ice blocks, said grid comprising: a main longitudinal dividing wall having a series of notches therein spaced along its length,'a series of cross walls extending across said main wall and loosely arranged in saidnotches in such manner that each cross may be individually and independently moved relative to said main wall to facilitate the removal of the frozen ice blocks from said grid, and a detached prying tool adapted to be individually applied at separate operations thereof to each of said cross walls so as to react between each cross wall and that portion of the main wall which is adjacent there to and thereby move said cross walls relative to said main wall one at a time and with a greatly multiplied force. 18. In a freezing tray, a container pan and a grid therefor serving to. divide the frozen contents into ice blocks,said grid comprising a series of relatively movable partitioning portions, each portion being independently movable relative to other partitioning portions to facilitate the re moval of the frozen ice blocks from said grid, and a detached prying tool manually actuatable at successive separate and independent operations to force only one of said partitioning portions of said grid to move relative to the other grid portions at each operation thereof'tn loosen relatively small groups of ice blocks from said grid at a time. k

19. In a freezing tray, a container pan and a grid therefor serving to divide the frozen contents into ice blocks, said grid comprising a series of relatively movable partitioning portions, each portion being independently movable relative to other partitioning portions to facilitate the removal of the frozen ice blocks from said grid, and a detached prying tool manually actuatahle at successive separate and independent operations to pry one of said partitioning portions 'and at least twoadjacent ice fblocks loose from the remaining solid frozen unit of grid and ice b'locks, said prying tool being moved to a new position at each successive operation thereof so as to always fulcrum closely adjacent the par:- ticular grid portion being pried loose at that operation.

DONALD E; Rm. 

